Some plants have unfortunate common names. Take sneezeweed for example. Sneezeweed, or helenium, is a native perennial that's blooming now with colorful flowers on 3 to 5 foot tall plants. It's great to grow in your garden because it flowers as the summer perennials, such as bee balm, are finishing but before the fall perennials, such as sedum and asters, begin.

State officials are investigating two cases of severe respiratory symptoms that health experts say may be related to vaping or e-cigarette use. The Department of Public Health said in a statement Wednesday that two Connecticut residents have been hospitalized with respiratory issues including shortness of breath, fever, cough, vomiting and diarrhea. Officials say both patients admitted to vaping and e-cigarette use with both nicotine and marijuana products.

Lawmakers and members of the public listened at a forum in Hartford on Tuesday, as more details emerged regarding alleged mismanagement inside a quasi-public state agency. The Connecticut General Assembly’s Transportation Committee hosted the public hearing in order to learn more about the corporate structure of the Connecticut Port Authority.

At 8:30 a.m. on a Friday morning in Torrington, a group of counselors in lime green shirts gathered around the flag pole at Camp MOE for a quick game of WAH. It was the last day of camp for the season — they were waiting for director Katherine Marchand-Beyer to make the morning announcements before children arrive.

In recent years, an invasive insect called the gypsy moth has spelled doom for countless New England trees. From 2016 through 2018, it’s estimated gypsy moths defoliated more than 2 million acres in southern New England, which means a lot of cleanup for foresters. But among all that destruction there is some good news: gypsy moth populations are, finally, declining.

Senator Richard Blumenthal is warning consumers about a proposal from the federal government that could force them to pay more for potentially inadequate repairs if they're involved in a car accident.

The ACLU of Connecticut is bringing a case against the city of Stamford that it hopes will test bail practices around the state.

The Secretary of the State’s office is defending Deputy Secretary Scott Bates as evidence grows about his role in questionable decisions at the Connecticut Port Authority.

Monarch butterflies famously migrate to Mexico in the winter, traveling along well established routes. One of those routes runs along the shoreline of Connecticut. An organic gardener whose mission is to increase the population of migrating monarchs will be in New Haven this weekend to show people how to raise and release these amazing creatures.

I've been rereading an old classic, 1973 gardening book by a former Redding, Connecticut resident Ruth Stout. In her book, No Work Gardening , she touts using deep layers of organic mulches as the solution to pretty much everything in the garden. She uses deep mulching for weed control, fertility management, and pest control and got huge yields with little work. Ruth passed many years ago, but her book got me thinking about simplifying my garden work.